ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

Seamus Kennedy, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been
entertaining audiences all over the United States for almost three
decades. With a ready wit and a vast store of songs, he travels the
country performing for thousands of people each year. From Alaska to
Florida, from Maryland to California, Seamus does his act for audiences
ranging from Popes and Presidents to bartenders and bricklayers, from
college students to kindergartners.
He arrived in New York fresh out of University College, Dublin, where he
majored in languages. It was as an athlete, however, that he came to the
United States. Gaelic football and hurling teams in the New York League
brought players from Ireland each summer, and since he had played
hurling and football at U.C.D. and for his county, he saw action right
away at Gaelic Park.
After the games, the team went to a pub in the Bronx for some light
refreshment and a singalong with Seamus supplying the guitar
accompaniment. The singalong became so popular that the bar owner
offered to pay Seamus to do it on a regular basis. So, he turned pro. As
he says: "I was getting paid for doing something I loved, and I wasn't
getting knocked about on the field. It was a lot easier on my body."
He eventually migrated to Boston with a fellow U.C.D. alumnus, Tom
O'Carroll, as a duo called the Beggarmen. The group broke up in 1978 and
Seamus, by that time appearing regularly in the D.C. area at Matt Kane's
legendary Bit o' Ireland, the Dubliner, and other spots, decided to
relocate.
He brought his family to Maryland in 1983 and has been happily settled
there ever since. For ten years he was the "house-band" at Pat Troy's
Ireland's Own Pub and Restaurant in Alexandria, VA, and he calls these
years "the best training any young performer could have had." Seamus has
been selected to perform before Pope John Paul II at Trinity College
(Washington D.C) and on one memorable St. Patrick's Day, President
Ronald Reagan showed up to catch his act at Ireland's Own. In fact, the
President joined the act when he came up on stage and did ten minutes of
Irish stories for a very surprised full house.
As the nation's capital, D.C. draws visitors from all over the world so
word of Seamus' talents began to spread. He began to tour frequently
outside the region. Today, he is one of the hardest working musicians
around, doing over 250 dates a year and it is a rare weekend that finds
him performing close to home.
Continual interaction is a Seamus Kennedy trademark. He talks directly
to his audience and isn't a bit flustered if they decide to talk back!
He loves to see people really having a good time, and he will encourage
making requests, singing along or acting out choruses. With his vast
repertoire and rapier wit, he has the ability to make folks forget their
cares for a while, to relax and enjoy themselves.
He has an endless supply of rib-tickling jokes, stories and one-liners
which can leave an audience breathless with mirth. But the Irish have
their serious side too, and when Seamus performs a more
thought-provoking ballads such as Phil Coulter's "The Town I Love So
Well" or Pete St. John's "Dublin In The Rare Old Times" the hush that
descends on the room is one of the greatest compliments an audience can
extend to a performer.
Seamus sings the music of his native land with emotion born of knowing
it's history and conflicts firsthand. But he is far from simply a
singer of Celtic songs. While he loves to perform the traditional and
contemporary tunes of Ireland and Scotland, he is equally proficient
with American music, whether it be folk, country, pop or bluegrass. He
can cut loose on a Texas swing number, follow it with a parody and segue
into a heart-rending ballad from Australia.
This diversity is also reflected in his nine recordings, many of which
were taped before live audiences, and which feature something for
everyone, from the silly to the serious, from instrumentals to a
capella vocals, with a healthy dose of humor thrown in.
He has specialty albums of children's material and Christmas songs, and
his recordings are carried on the Internet by songs.com where he has
been amongst their top 10 sellers since joining the site several years
ago.
His strong entertainment skills and his ongoing interaction with his
audiences help Seamus create an exceptionally loyal fan base everywhere
he goes. And they in turn demonstrate a willingness to follow where he
goes. Several years back, he started guiding a bus tour to Ireland once
a year. It proved so popular that a second tour was added and both of
these now sell out well in advance. Seamus also started putting together
seasonal shows (Christmas, St. Patrick's Day) in theatres. His December
Celtic Christmas in Bethlehem, PA sold out in October its first year and
his shows at the Avalon Theatre in Easton, MD have been SRO since their
inception!
The intense dedication Seamus inspires in people is not lost on music
presenters. He is frequently hired by organizations, including police,
firefighters, Celtic societies and military groups, to do fundraising
shows for them. The fact that these events quickly become annual
activities speaks for itself.
Seamus has won nine WAMMIES (the prestigious Washington Area Music
Association Awards) for "Best Irish Male Vocalist." Although he doesn't
place much importance in awards and ceremonies, he values the WAMMIES
because the recognition comes from his fellow performers and musicians.
Seamus' ability to combine a total command of the music with humor makes
him unique in the industry. Festivals that generally rotate their
performers often decide to have him return year after year because they
cannot find anyone else to fill his niche. In addition, his broad
range of material makes him equally suitable for both Scottish and Irish
events. He headlines at both and the performers with whom he has shared
the stage reads like a Who's Who of Celtic stars. On the Irish side,
they include The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, Liam Clancy, the Irish
Rovers, Danny Doyle, Altan, Paddy Reilly, Craobh Rua, Hal Roach, the
John Whelan Band and many others. At Scottish festivals, he has appeared
with Alex Beaton, Alasdair Fraser, Ed Miller, Seven Nations, Tempest and
Natalie MacMaster, to name a few. At the Celtic festivals that embrace
several heritages (including Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and
Canada), he has been billed alongside Men of Worth, Clandestine, Neil
Anderson & Full Circle, Golden Bough, the Glengarry Bhoys and Hadrian's
Wall.
Nancy Hathaway Noyes, critic for Music Scene Magazine puts it best:
"Kennedy is a consummate and professional entertainer, who knows how to
gauge his audience's moods and desires and produces something to fit.
One of his talents is to make this seem effortless, thanks to years of
experience and a lightning-quick intellect on top of solid musical
talent, both in the use of his smooth baritone voice, and in the
instrumental work he creates in accompaniment. The well performed music
is always actively interspersed with jokes, stories and snappy repartée,
resulting in a lot of fun."

Start off with the packaging. The cover art, and the interiors, are shots of Seamus standing and posing at various spots on The Giants Causeway in the North of Ireland. Seamus chose to use a trifold cover instead of a jewel case, and packed in one of the pockets are a complete set of lyrics. I liked it so well that I am going to use this format on our next CD, as well as on the solo project that I am planning.

In typical Seamus Kennedy fashion, this CD is packed with music. This is something I like and believe in. It seems to me that to leave much empty space on a CD is ripping off the consumer. Especially in these genres, where we have centuries of music to choose from, arrange our own way, never mind the ripe crop of issues to write new material from. Seamus crams about 65 minutes of music on this CD. He runs the gamut in his selection of songs hitting traditional Irish, songs of the Irish in the new country, mixing them up with songs he has written. The example of this would be his Pennsylvania Mining Trilogy. In this 3 song set, he does Chuck Roger's Sons Of Molly, a slightly altered (with permission of)Aengus Finnan song O'Shaughnessy's Lament, and caps it off with a song I heard him perform for the first time publicly, after he wrote it, in my seisun tent in Muskegon, Michigan, My Father Was A Miner. Seamus wrote this song based on a story told him by his friend Jim Cunningham. I remember the day he performed it in the Tent at the Michigan Irish Music Festival. You must imagine the setting. The tent is where we sit and invite folks to join in a jam session with the performing artists at the festival. It is entirely free form, and Seamus always joins in. The second he started singing this stunning song, I was drawn to it. It is a compelling look at the life of a miner. He then told us he had just wrote it and this was the first time he sang it publicly. You could have heard a pin drop.

I believe that this one might be the best of a body of excellent work. You should consider it a must own CD.

Whether you are a first time Seamus listner or a regular, you will like this collection. It has a perfect mix of serious (Only Our Rivers Run Free) and the whimsical (God is From New Jersey). This is a studio recording, and therefore just a little different from his concert recordings. This makes the serious songs just a little more reverential. However, the funny stuff is still laugh out loud funny. The most noticeable difference as I see it is the mix of the instrumentation he uses as backup, both his own guitar playing and his support band instruments. With the studio recording he is able to create a more rich sound. This is delightful listening, highly recommended.

I heard "The Beer Song" and "You're Always at Home in a Bar" on the radio and knew I had to find the album. The radio station (KUT-FM, Austin, Texas) lists the songs it plays on its website, so it wasn't hard to find. I've ordered more copies to give as gifts.

I just loved this CD. Its the first one I've ever bought from an Irish singer. Being from NJ I just loved God is from NJ, and Concret Road. I'll be purchasing more from CD Baby in the future of the same artist.

Seamus wrote My Fatner Was A Miner'after talking with me and several friends from Scranton,Pa.My father WAS THE miner and every time Seamus plays within driving distance I hear him. I still get chills whenever I hear the song. My children look at me and tell me Dad,Seamus is singing Grandpa's song. It gets better every time I hear it. Thanks,Seamus-Bruce Cunningham